Spirit Cooking is an event and ritual centerpiece created by Marina Abramovic, an artist known for her harrowing performances and occult rituals. The ritual itself has deep influences from ancient occult rituals performed prior to consuming the Eucharistic meal during worship. It has recently gained interest as an artistic experience, especially after widespread media coverage during the latter half of the 2016 US presidential election.
The origins of spirit cooking can be found in the prelude to making the cake of light, a sacrament of the Thelema religion founded by Aleister Crowley. The original ritual, which does not bear the same name, is performed during the cooking of light cake wafers consumed at religious gatherings. However, the light cake ingredients are honey, oil, menstrual blood, and semen. The sacraments are meant to symbolize the union between man, the microcosm, and God, the macrocosm, and are one of his major aphorisms of Hermeticism. Consuming the cake of light is the fulfillment of the sacred circle of connection between man and God.
In one of her art renditions, Marina uses pig's blood (which most closely resembles human blood) as a medium to connect the spiritual world with the material world. The " arts" purpose ( or ritual )is to transform matter into energy that can be eaten by spirits. Marina is inspired by the widely held belief that the mind is no longer solid and must be maintained in the form of light, sound and emotion.
In her 1997 video, "Spirit Cooking," Marina is shown writing on walls with pigs blood. These phrases are disturbing. They include things like "mixing fresh breast milk with fresh sperm", "sprinkling nightmare dreams with fresh morning urine", and "cutting deep into the middle finger with a sharp knife". The video shows that spirit cooking looks like a combination of an artistic performance and an occult ritual. Marina Abramovic once said "the context in which the ritual takes place defines its intent. When it is performed in public , it is art, but when it is performed in a private setting, it becomes more intimate and spiritual".
2011 MOCA Met GALA
Abramovic wanted the night to feel like an experiment, so she had guests change into their lab coats as they enter the room so that everyone can participate in the night. They were all wearing expensive costumes, so the coats forced the hierarchy you feel at these kinds of events to disappear. Everyone had a different experience.
Yvonne Rainer,a dancer,called Abramovics project grotesque and exploitative. It was publicly protested and caused considerable controversy and press coverage.
Because petit fours and cupcakes were too conservative to end the night. -, the dessert appeared in the form of a cake in the shape of Harry and Abramovics bodies, carved for the enjoyment of guests - and elicited cries from the crowd about violence against women. Ritual? Art? You be the judge
On June 28, 2015, John Podesta's brother Tony sent him an email asking if he would be free to attend a dinner at Marina's. In the forwarded message, Marina states that she is looking forward to a spirit dinner at her place (meaning she wants to perform a cooking ritual) and asks about Podesta's availability. This caused the internet to explode.
After spirit cooking became more popular, Abramovic. She said the email was taken out of context. She said it was a regular dinner for people who donated to the Kickstarter campaign. Abramoviu denies that she is a Satanist and that her work and practices are more spiritual in nature than ours.
(Pictures and information credited to
https://mitpress.mit.edu/marina-abramovics-spirit-cooking.com)